Stock-taking device.



G. J. STROM.

STOCK TAKING DEVICE.

APPLIUATIGN FILED MAY a. 1910.

Zar/esel S'am UNTE STATES PATENT FFTUE.

CHARLES J. STROM, OF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.

STOCKTAKING DEVICE.

ascesa To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. S'rnoar, a citizen of the United States,residing at Augusta, county of Richmond, and State of Georgia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Stock-Taking Devices, ofwhich the following is a specificat-ion.

My invention relates to improvements in stock taking devices, that is,to devices for facilitating the taking of stock in mercantile houses,particularly dry goods stores.

In mercantile houses stock is taken at least once in every year, and indry goods houses usually twice a year or more frequently. Vith the oldmethod of taking stock each bolt of goods was measured by hand whichnecessitated undoing the goods and then rewinding the same into bolts. Atag bearing the amount of goods in the bolt was then attached thereto.On account of the amount of work required, this portion of the work iscommenced some time, that is days or weeks, according to the size of thestock carried, before the record of the stock is made. Consequently,with each sale made after the goods are measured as above stated, theclerk making the sale would have to make a change in the tag'.Frequently this change is overlooked or incorrectly made which resultsin an error when the record of the stock is taken. Also by this methodwhich is in general use, an immense amount of work is thrown upon theemployees each time the stock is taken.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved means or device forfacilitating the taking of stock whereby each bolt or piece of goods inthe house will maintain its own record so that when it is desired totake stock all that is necessary is to take the nal record.

A further and particular object of my invention is to provide animproved device for facilitating the application of the recording deviceto the goods.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

`With these objects in view my invention consists generally in agraduated tape formed of thin paper and coiled in the bolt with thegoods so that the exposed end of the tape will at all times give acorrect record of the amount of goods remaining in the bolt, the tapealso serving as a measure for the goods when being sold.

My invention further consists in an im- Specifcation of Letters Fatent.

Application filed May 9, 1910.

Patented lllar. 14, 1911.

Serial No. 560,347.

proved reel rack for holding the tapes whereby the same may be easilyapplied to the `goods.

My invention fin-ther consists in an improved reel and tapes as willappear hereinafter.

My invention further consists in various details of construction andarrangements of parts all as will be fully described herein after andparticularly pointed out in the claim. i

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the:ucompanying drawings forming a part of this specilication and inwhich-- Iigure l is a front elevation of a reel rack embodying myinvention in its preferred form, Fig. 2 is a vertical section of thesaine on the line 2 2 of Fig. l and illustrated upon an enlarged scale,Fig. 2l is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 9, Fig. ll is aplan view of the device, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of thereels illustrating one of the tapes just removed therefrom and the nextsuccessive tape beginning to unwind, and Fig. (3 is a perspective viewof a portion of a bolt of cloth equipped with one of the tapes.

Referring now to the drawings l indicates a stand which comprises avertical standard 2 and a base 3. Secured to the upper end of thestandard 2 is a cross member 4f to which are secured a plurality ofvertical upwardly extending bars or members I have illustrated five ofthe bars which are arranged parallel with each other and spaced apartforming vertical recesses G between them for the reels. The lower endsof the bars 5 are preferably mortised into the horizontal cross member 4as at 7. The upper ends of the members 5 are connected by a cross bar ormember 8 which is profe ably removably mounted in place. To this end theupper ends of the intermediate bars 5 are reduced as at 9 to extend intoapertures l0 formed in the bar 8, and the outer members 5 are bifurcated at their upper ends as at 11 and the edges of the member 8 arecorrespondingly recessed as at 12 to receive the ends l1 as shownclearly in Fig. 4l. The ends 11 are preferably dove-tailed into themember S as illustrated.

The inner adjacent faces of the strips 5 are provided with verticalgrooves 13 which extend from the ripper ends of said strips to pointssomewhat below the center thereof to receive the ends of the reelspindles. By this construction the exhausted reels may bc readilyremoved and new reels inserted after having removed the top cross bar 8.

14; indicates the reels and 15 the spindles thereof. Wound upon each ofthe reels 14k are a plurality of tapes 16 which are formed of narrowthin strips of paper each graduated into yards and fractions of yards.Dry goods come in various standard lengths of twenty, thirty, forty andsixty yards to the bolt, and it is for this reason that l provide thereel raclr with four reels, each reel containing' a plurality of tapesof one of the lengths mentioned. That is one reel will contain aplurality of twenty yard tapes, another a plurality of thirty yardtapes, another a plurality of forty yard tapes and the fourth aplurality of sixty yard tapes. To avoid mistake when using the devicethe strip 4L is provided with numerals at the bottom of each of thechannels 6 indicative of the length of the strips on the respectivereels. Blocks or weights 1S are slidably mounted in the channels 6 andrest upon the reels of tape to give proper tension to the same whenbeing unwound. r1`hese are provided with laterally extending tongues 19which project into the grooves 13 and in which they freely slide. Thelower end of the blocks 18 are beveled with an upward and forwardincline 2O to permit free vertical movement ofthe tape 16 when beingwound in the bolt without danger of tearing the same.

ln using the device the top strip 8 is re moved and reels bearing stripsor tapes of the several lengths are arranged in the respective channelsas before mentioned and the tension block 18 placed in position abovethe same and strip replacer.. The device is then ready for service.`When new bolts of goods are received, which are of known lengths, thegoods are rewound upon the bolt and a strip or tape of correspondinglength coiled therewith. That is, if the bolt contain a piece of goodsthirty yards in length, a tape is used from the reel containing thethirty yard tapes. The bolts are then ready for the shelves and it isobvious that the strips afford ready means for measuring the goods assold thereby dispensing with the use of the usual yard stick or tacksplaced in the edge of the counter. Further when it is desired to takestock the amount of goods remaining in the bolt may be read directlyfrom the tape and unwinding, measuring and rewinding the goods isdispensed with, and furthermore the liability to error as hereinbeforementioned is obviated.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

ln a device of the class described, a reel rrack comprising a horizontalbottom member and a plurality of parallel vertical members extendingupwardly therefrom forming reel channels between them, the inner edgesof said vertical members being grooved for a portion of their length,the grooves eX- tending to the upper ends thereof, reels, spindles forsaid reels having their ends arranged in said grooves, blocks arrangedabove said reels, tongues on said blocks eX- tending into said grooves,and a removable top member connecting the upper ends of said verticalmembers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

J. Gr. BELDING, W. D. STONE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

